


Dusty Gold

by sgtbucketbarnes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, book store au, vampire reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17111207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgtbucketbarnes/pseuds/sgtbucketbarnes
Summary: MARVEL HOLIDAY SWAP: Loki never expected to come across another immortal on Earth. He found her tucked away between endless rows of dust covered fairy tales.





	Dusty Gold

**Author's Note:**

> I joined the Marvel Holiday Swap and wrote this for ace-cdc (on tumblr)! I hope you like it!

Erik Selvig had mentioned that Midgardians had story books filled with tellings of his kind. Curiosity, or perhaps vanity, had gotten the better of him and he set out to see what version of his story they deemed to tell. The old, almost ancient by comparison to the towers surrounding it, bookstore across from Strange’s sanctum seemed like a decent place to start. 

 

He let his fingertips trail along the cracked binds and covers as he searched for anything pertaining to Asgardian culture or history. He found the shelf where they should’ve been kept, if they had them at all. After the second and third scan came up empty, Loki let out a sigh and tried not to be too disappointed. 

 

“You know, I have yet to find a single portrait where they get your nose right.” 

 

His head snaps up to the girl at the end of the aisle, who has folded herself into an old chair, a small stack of books resting on the arm, her face obscured by an open hardback. 

 

_ Tales of Norse Mythology.  _

 

Of course. 

 

“Ah, but how’s the hair? Apparently that’s the most difficult part of my likeness to capture,” he remarked with the faintest hint of irritation at the memories of horrid portrayals he had seen over the years. 

 

A pair of piercing eyes met his over the edge of the book, a single eyebrow raised. “It’s far greasier in person.” 

 

His curiosity overpowers him once again. He can sense she’s not human, but can’t quite pinpoint exactly what species she is. He tries to remember his manners. “Who are you?”

 

“We both know that’s not the question you want to answered,” she folds the book, index finger holding her place between the pages, and rests in her lap. Her eyes never leave his. “Go ahead, you can ask.” 

 

He narrows his eyes, not out of suspicion, but interest. “What are you?” 

 

She grins, flashing sharp teeth, “Vampire.” 

 

“Impossible,” he states simply. “I’ve been alive for over a thousand years, studied tens of thousands of species, and never have vampires’ existence been proven. It’s a myth, a fairy tale.” 

 

She stretches a delicate hand towards him, wiggling her fingers, “I’m real. Promise.” 

 

Hesitantly, he runs his fingertips over the back of her hand. She’s cold, but no colder than a human that’s been outside a bit too long in the snow. No colder than him.  

 

Her smile falters. “There’s not many of us left. We can’t just bite a human and turn them, like so many of their stories say. We’re born this way. And the only way for us to die is going over a year without feeding. A few too many fell in love with a human or fairy or some other mortal being over the last few millennia. Starving themselves after their loves had passed.” Her gaze had turned distant as she watched him brush his thumb across the back of her hand. 

 

“How many are left?” he couldn’t help but ask. 

 

The question seemed to bring her back to the moment, shaking her head a bit and meeting his eye again. She turned her palm to press against his. “Less than a thousand, last I checked. Which was a couple of decades ago. There weren’t a lot to begin with, though.” 

 

Loki nodded, eyes fixating on his feet. He had so many questions. How had they stayed hidden for so long? Why did they? Did they feed on humans exclusively, or any animal with blood? Did they have abilities? How did she know who he was? How had she known he would be here? 

 

“I can see that pretty head filling with questions, and I promise to answer them all, if you stay calm.” 

 

He lifted his head, ready to question what exactly she meant by that, when he felt a fog lifting from his mind, one he hadn’t realized was there. He quickly dropped her hand, taking a step back. 

 

“What was that? What did you do to me?” his tone accusatory, volume raising a bit too high for the quiet book store. 

 

Her eyes were wide, honest, pleading softly, “I calmed your mind. That’s all. I’ve only been doing it for as long as we’ve been talking. I didn’t want you to freak out and leave.”

 

“How? Do vampires possess a form of magic as well?” he tried to hold back the bitterness in his voice. He loathed being deceived, but refused to let her believe there was any justifiable reason for what she had done. 

 

“No. Well, not usually. I seem to be a special exception,” she answered quietly, almost shyly. Embarrassed. 

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Yeah. Oh.” She seemed sad. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here, shouldn’t have bothered you,” she mumbles, eyebrows knit together, stacking the book in her hand on top of the rest. 

 

He reaches out to stop her, realizing she’s making to leave. His hand falls short, hanging in the air for a moment before dropping back to his side. She looks up at him expectly. 

 

“Do vampires drink coffee?” 

 

He ignores the satisfaction spreading in his chest at her answering smile. He has too many questions to let her walk away now. 

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon across the table from each other, pretending to enjoy their mugs contents. He asks her nearly every question he can think of, and she readily answers each one. 

 

He asks her how vampires stayed hidden away for so many generations. 

 

“Humans aren’t very observate. Besides the need to feed on blood every couple of months, we appear exactly alike.” 

 

“But you eat human food?” 

 

“On occasion. It does me no harm. Doesn’t really affect me in any way, actually. I have a soft spot for fruit, though. It’s sweet. A nice treat.” 

 

“Whose blood do you drink?”

 

“You mean, do I drink from humans or animals?” she continues on without waiting for his confirmation, “Either I choose. Animal’s blood tends to be cleaner, but there are far more humans that deserve to be fed on than animals.” 

 

He enjoyed watching her talk. Anything more than a simple “yes” or “no”, her eyes would go distant again, as she concentrated on her answer, often settling to gaze out the window instead of at him. “You mentioned that you have a form of magic?” 

 

Her eyebrows quirked together, eyes flashing to his before quickly looking away again. “Sort of. I always assumed it was some kind of magic but I don’t really know. I’ve never heard of any of my kind having anything close to it.” She seemed pained at the thought. Like she, too, had been isolated because of things others couldn’t understand. “I have these dreams. I dream of the future, well possibilities of the future. They show me where to go, who I’m going to meet next, paths to avoid. I can also sort of influence emotions? Like, I can’t change how you feeling about something entirely, but for a few minutes, if your guard is down, I can make you calmer, happier, or more excited. Things like that.” She had gotten fidgety, wringing her hands together. 

 

“Just those emotions? Or can you do the opposite?” 

 

“What do you mean?” she finally met his eye, confused. 

 

“Can you also make someone feel sad or angry, perhaps frightened?” 

 

She looked away once again. “I don’t um… know? I’ve never tried.” 

 

Oh. 

 

An unfamiliar feeling settled in his chest. Admiration. Almost a hint of adoration. She was good.

 

Loki quickly cleared his throat, shoving down the unwelcome emotions, and changed the subject. “So your dreams, is that how you knew where to find me?” 

 

She relaxed a bit. “Yes.” 

 

“And? Is it meeting your expectations?” he gestured vaguely between them. 

 

A soft smile spread across her lips, “Exceeding them, greatly.” 

 

They leave the coffee shop after the sun sets, continuing their conversation as they stroll through the neon lit city. She tells him stories of her travels, moving to a new place every ten years. She starts out claiming to be twenty and leaving shortly after her thirtieth birthday. She’s made friends in each place, some she misses so dearly that she’ll come back to visit after a couple of decades have passed, allegedly the daughter of their old friend. 

 

“But I don’t go back to a city to stay again until at least a hundred years have passed,” she informed him, a skip in her step as she easily kept up with his leisurely stride. 

 

He smiled down at her, he seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. “Where’s your favorite place?” 

 

He intended to watch her barrel on into another admittedly entertaining story, so he was surprised to find her quiet and blushing beside him. 

 

“What is it?” he slowed to a stop and turned to face her. A street lamp over their heads kept them out of the dark night. 

 

“I, um… Norway,” she settled on, her gaze remained on the sidewalk. 

 

“And why’s that?” 

 

After a deep breath, she finally looked up at him. “You visited Earth a couple hundred years ago. You were about 17 or so in human years, at the time. You were there with your family. Stayed in a cottage in the woods with an old witch for a few days…” She trailed off, the tone in her voice encouraging him to confirm her story. He obliged, though he didn’t see what it had to do with his question. 

 

“I remember, yes.” 

 

“I was living up that mountain at the time. I came down to swim in the river, but on my way, I saw you. Trailing behind your father and brother. Quiet. When they left you to your own exploration, you hiked up a bit and settled in a tree to read. I watched you, followed you,” her cheeks redden further, “I’m not sure why, so don’t ask. I just… felt like I should. Like there was something I was supposed to see. So I hid and watched. I saw butterflies and hummingbirds and chipmunks dance around you while you read, curious but never afraid. That’s how I knew you were good. I hoped, but I knew it when I saw that my forest trusted you. Even after what happened a few years ago in New York, I know that at your core, you are truly good.” 

 

They stared at each other for a long moment before he forced himself to turn and continued walking. Glancing over his shoulder he asked, “You still coming or what?” and she smiled, relieved, and joined his side once again. 

 

A year later saw them hand in hand, walking through the halls of the palace during her first visit to Asgard. He had visited her for months at a time on Earth, growing closer to her with each passing day. She never pressed to know about his past, but listened attentively when he felt comfortable sharing a story or two. The more time he spent with her, the more he wished to share with her about himself. She was nervous when they first met, worried how he would react to her, but he fell hard and fast, at least by his standards. Hard, fast and all consuming, like the tales read to children. 

 

In the beginning he assumed those strange feelings had appeared because she was the first creature he had met over the age of a hundred that saw good in him. But she knew stories, those she had read and those he had whispered to her in the night, and her eyes never held an ounce of judgement. She saw him for who he was, not what he had done. 

 

And so he fell. 

 

Never, in all his years, did Loki think his undoing would come at the hands of a girl. 

 

Truthfully, she was more than just a girl. She was brave, strong, kind, cunning, and equipped with a wit that sharpens his own. Sweet, bright, and golden. The exception to every one of his rules. A woman. A vampire. And eventually, a goddess, if he has his way. A queen to rule by his side. 

 

He never expected to come across another immortal on Earth, never expected to find the love of his life, at all. He found her tucked away between endless rows of dust covered fairy tales. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are deeply appreciated! You can check out more of my writing at puppy-bucky on tumblr :)


End file.
